Workday Lunches?

Options
csbucher
csbucher Posts: 3 Member
edited March 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
I have a busy schedule and need ideas for lunches on workdays. I have a habit of grabbing the frozen dinners (Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, Healthy Choice etc.) which are high in sodium and not quality food. I'm looking for ideas for quick or make ahead nutritious lunches. I do have a frig and microwave available at work.
«1

Replies

  • csbucher
    csbucher Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    csbucher wrote: »
    I have a busy schedule and need ideas for lunches on workdays. I have a habit of grabbing the frozen dinners (Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, Healthy Choice etc.) which are high in sodium and not quality food. I'm looking for ideas for quick or make ahead nutritious lunches. I do have a frig and microwave available at work.


  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    Options
    I too have a busy schedule but always plan for lunches. Today I have a salad and tuna sandwich on whole grain bread. I also frequently mix diced tomatoes, chick peas, onions and whatever vegetable you want ,add a little cumin or whatever spice you want and that will make up a few lunches for the week. I also cook a spaghetti squash and add either tomato sauce or olive oil and spices, that will provide a few days of lunches too. I typically prep a bunch of veggies for the week so each day I just have to grab a handful for a snack.
  • subakwa
    subakwa Posts: 347 Member
    Options
    Broth type vegetable soups are good. Chop all your veg, pop it in a bowl type container, take along your miso / Tom yam paste and make up with boiling water at work. The veg cook in the broth as you eat and you can mix up the veg, tofu, prawns etc as you feel like it. Also add fresh noodles or zoodles for something more substantial.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    Options
    There's nothing wrong with high sodium for most people, and most of them have varied foods and they only make up ~1/3 or less of your daily intake. So, I wouldn't ax them just because they aren't the ideal healthy food. I don't care for how most of them taste though, so I don't tend to buy them.

    My lunch is typically left over pizza that I make on the weekend, but I also do left over dinner from the night before, a sandwich, or I'll get something from the cafeteria. Since you have a fridge & microwave, salads, sandwiches, and left overs are easy things to bring to work for lunch.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
    Options
    I usually cook 3-4 different meals on Sunday and then portion them out for the week to take to work.
  • Mentali
    Mentali Posts: 352 Member
    Options
    You could make a huge salad one day and pre-portion out dressing for a quick grab lunch. I also like wraps - you generally want to do those the morning of because if you have any sauce it'll soak the tortilla but it's not time-consuming.
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    Options
    nordlead2005 wrote: »
    There's nothing wrong with high sodium for most people, and most of them have varied foods and they only make up ~1/3 or less of your daily intake. So, I wouldn't ax them just because they aren't the ideal healthy food. I don't care for how most of them taste though, so I don't tend to buy them.

    My lunch is typically left over pizza that I make on the weekend, but I also do left over dinner from the night before, a sandwich, or I'll get something from the cafeteria. Since you have a fridge & microwave, salads, sandwiches, and left overs are easy things to bring to work for lunch.

    LoL, I'm jealous that, that works for you sir!

    OP- I do 3-4 days worth of salads for breakfast, lunch and bring them all to work, I boil 3 dozen eggs every Sunday, shell and remove most of the yolks for my breakfast (7 per day) (I limit myself to 1-3 yolks per day depending on current goal). With lunch salad I have tuna because it's cheap and I can buy it in bulk and keep it in my office. Also saves time

    It sounds like you're either lazy or that you just don't know how to cook, if that is the case there are meal prep services that bodybuilders use that you can also use. You don't have to be a bodybuilder to eat like a bodybuilder.
  • KSnow78
    KSnow78 Posts: 37 Member
    Options
    I cooked a big batch of Turkey Chili on the weekend and I have enough for a few meals this week !! 1 Cup serving is 277 calories :)
  • GYATagain
    GYATagain Posts: 141 Member
    Options
    If you are able to and have the time - spending a couple of hours on the weekends prepping veggies, fruits, salad fixins and just lunch meal planning is such a life saver! I'm in the office by 6:30 - 6:45 every morning and I have chores before that -- grabbing already to go things is the best! Leftovers are fantastic also. Doubling whatever it is you are already making is so easy to grab in the morning. My go to: hardboiled eggs, celery & carrots with peanut butter or hummus, spicy cabbage soup, chicken tortilla soup, lettuce wraps of turkey/cheese, roasted veggies, quinoa buffalo chicken, well, anything leftover from night before. Then adding a fresh salad from the stuff I've prepped takes maybe 2 minutes. Good to go!
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    Options
    i have string cheese, fruit, edamame, and yogurt or cottage cheese
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
    Options
    Today for lunch I'm having a big helping of "coleslaw" (super easy - prepackaged shredded cabbage + poppyseed dressing), some turkey meat, wheat thins, and Greek yogurt.
  • essterne
    essterne Posts: 13 Member
    Options
    I typically have a can of Progresso soup every day. There are lots of varieties, so you don't get bored, and you can find calorie values that range from 160-400 calories per can depending on how you plan your meals. They're pretty good quality, and even though the sodium can be little high (1/3 your daily intake) that shouldn't be a problem if you drink plenty of fluids and don't have any underlying blood pressure issues.
  • bradcfairchild
    bradcfairchild Posts: 74 Member
    Options
    First let me wish you luck in your search for healthy lunches. I have a desk job. Not much activity during the day. Started work 4-10's a few months ago. My metabolism is slower the older I get. A couple years ago I decided I eat too much at lunch, so I switched to eating nuts, fresh fruit, maybe a bit of cheese for protein and I started walking at lunch. Occasionally I go have lunch with friends but most the time I try to talk them into going for a short walk. I've kind of maintained. I could have gained, so this strategy may have saved me, who knows? I generally over eat so being aware of what I eat and how much I eat, for every meal is definitely helpful. I use MyFitnessPal to occasionally count calories and see if I'm missing something. I recently discovered that my snacking throughout the day adds more calories than I was aware of, more than lunch, actually nearly double lunch calories. So I have to reconsider my snacking habits. I don't like to freak out and eat only celery or totally exclude things like sugar, but I definitely need to use healthy choices and limit unhealthy choices. It always takes me effort to find a balance. I signed up to do another Ironman so I'm exercising a lot more before and after work. I'm finally starting to see changes after several months of more intense exercise. I've not mastered my eating habits so I've use exercise to make up for it. ;)
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    Options
    I'm firmly on the lean cuisine/healthy choice bandwagon for lunch. I need easy. I do meal prep on Sunday's but that is for dinners throughout the week since we are so ridiculously busy. I do supplement my frozen meal with fruit or a salad either brought from home or purchased at our cafeteria at work. My bigggest complaint about the frozen meals is that they just don't give you enough food. One of my favorite healthy choice steamers is only 210 calories. Why the hell didn't they just double the portion? It would still be a decent, low calorie lunch?
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
    Options
    I hate frozen dinners. These are my "emergency rations" staples:

    Bag of prepared salad with can of tuna or 1/4lb turkey or 2 boiled eggs (use half the dressing but eat all the veggies)
    Ramen with added veg (whatever's in the fridge) plus an egg dropped in it
    Leftovers, of course
    Avocado on toast
    Frozen salmon burger thawed at desk then cooked in toaster oven
    Oatmeal with nuts and fruit

    Usually, it's just leftovers of whatever was for supper, though.
  • lisalewis7588
    lisalewis7588 Posts: 76 Member
    Options
    My lunches are almost always leftovers. When I meal plan for the week, I make sure I have enough dinners that make good leftovers. Since I try to have healthy dinners, it carries over into healthy lunches. If I have a ton of extra chili or something else that freezes well, I portion it into individual containers and freeze to have on hand later.

    In a pinch, if I didn't plan correctly and end up short a lunch (and the freezer is empty), I either have egg salad wrap (I almost always have hardboiled eggs on hand so it's quick and easy for me), or tuna salad/wrap/with crackers.

    I find that I just can't do prepackaged meals, they never have enough fiber for me (I have found that I need a lot more fiber than the average human to keep everything going well downstairs, if you know what I mean... plus fiber makes me feel nice and full for the rest of the afternoon!).
  • CassidyScaglione
    CassidyScaglione Posts: 673 Member
    Options
    Honestly, just leftovers from dinner the night before is easiest... Make extra if you don't already, and invest in some nice tupperware.
  • StateGirl244
    StateGirl244 Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    Planning ahead always helps me!
    If you have a crock pot, making a weeks worth of lunches sunday afternoons is easy and you don't even have to be there while it's cooking! That way you know what is in your food, and if you want to "mix it up" left-overs from the previous night or the occasional lunch out or store bought meal is ok :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,982 Member
    Options
    When I worked in an office, I batch cooked on Sundays to have lunch and dinner for Monday - Thursday. Now that I work from home I usually have sandwiches for lunch, but these could easily be made in the AM or the night before. Or you could bring in leftovers from the night before.

    I subscribe to the MFP blog and it is always emailing me suggestions for lunches like the first two search results http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/?s=lunches+for+work
  • lulukat918
    lulukat918 Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    I cook soups and stews and freeze them in small glass containers and pull out and take with me on days i dont have leftovers

Categories